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Love Hurts: Stingray Rejects Nighttime 'Snuggle' With Velvetfish Near Port Phillip Bay

Rejection is something that even members of the animal kingdom experience sometimes, and free diver Jules Casey said she captured a moment of underwater heartbreak as a velvetfish tried to get close to an uninterested stingray in Australia.

Casey posted the video to her Instagram account on February 20 and began her caption with “REJECTED” before going on to say that the “awkward looking Velvetfish” tried to “snuggle up” to the stingray near Port Phillip Bay, and ended up with “sand in its face.”

The video, which was recorded at night, shows the velvetfish moving across the ocean floor, inching its way slowly toward the much larger stingray, which Casey identified as a stingaree.

Once the velvetfish gets close, it appears to rest atop one of the stingray’s pectoral fins for a few moments, before the stingray decides to scoot away.

Unfortunately, the velvetfish appears to be left with no cuddling partner for the evening as the stingray seemed to prefer spending the night solo. Credit: Jules Casey via Storyful